We are working like mad to finish up a DVD on the H.O. Studley tool cabinet and workbench so it can be released at Woodworking in America in late September. We’ve hit a little snag, and we hope you can help us.
The DVD is being edited by the ever-capable Ben Strano, who has cleaned up the audio on all of our electronic projects (“The Naked Woodworker” and the audiobook of “The Joiner and Cabinet Maker”). After reviewing the rough cuts of the DVD last week, Ben and I agree we need two things. One is necessary; the other would just be cool.
Necessary: Do you have any video footage of the Studley exhibit in Amana, Iowa, in May? We don’t need much. But a little video of the crowds, the workbench and the chest itself would be a huge help in fleshing out a transition point in the DVD.
We can’t offer you money, but we will be happy to credit you if we use your footage. Contact Ben at his e-mail address: ben@benstrano.com if you think you can help.
Very cool: Do you have a photo of the original Fine Woodworking Studley poster on your shop wall? Or can you take one? We’re hoping to build a montage (a montage!) of these photos as part of the DVD.
I’m going to be living in Quito, Ecuador for the next six months. I wanted to bring some tools with me to try out on those notorious tropical hardwoods (and whatever else I might encounter). Unfortunately, with all that iron and steel, woodworking tools are heavy. I decided at the outset that my weight and size budget would be one standard checked bag, which is 50 lb and 62 inches, length + width + height.
The first thing that comes to mind when transporting items that need protection is a Pelican case. But Pelican cases are heavy, and one of an appropriate size would put a pretty big dent in my weight budget. So I started looking around at alternatives, including standard hard-sided luggage (mostly the wrong shape, and of questionable protective ability for a 50-lb. load), and eventually decided that I would have to build a lightweight wooden box and ship it inside a padded duffel bag. The good news is that woodworking tools generally aren’t too fragile as long as you keep them from banging into each other.
I had already started down the path of designing the box when I chanced upon an ad in a web site somewhere, advertising the new line of lightweight Pelican Air cases. A quick back-of-the-envelope calculation revealed that a 1605 case would be the right size, and would weigh no more, and probably a little less, than my proposed box. So, out with the box and in with the Pelican Air case. But when I tried to order one, I discovered that the Air cases truly were new, as in, not yet released.
I spoke with Gary at Midwest Case, and after he did some checking with his supplier, we concluded that the case would probably arrive in time. So I crossed my fingers and waited, and used Pelican’s CAD drawings to design the internal dividers that I would need to keep the tools from attacking each other. (The case arrived on 24 May, in plenty of time. I heartily recommend Midwest Case for anyone who needs a Pelican or similar case in or near Ohio; the customer service I received was above and beyond.)
I’m an iron plane kind of guy, but I knew that an iron jointer plane would completely blow my weight budget, so I briefly entertained the idea of building a Krenov-style wooden jointer plane. Instead, I decided to go all-Charlesworth and take only a single jack plane, with an assortment of blades for different tasks, and a couple of low-angle block planes for small stuff. I left out things like a rough panel saw and hammer/mallet, since I knew that I could buy those things at a big box store once I arrived.
Once I got everything together and fitted, I was still a few pounds over my weight budget (as I had expected), so I had to give up a few tools that I would have liked to have, like a couple of paring chisels, a heavy-duty diamond plate, a Starrett compass, etc.
This is the final layout; the empty spaces are where tools had to be omitted:
The tray bottoms are made of 1/8″-thick paulownia plywood, chosen for its ridiculously low weight. I was also going to go with paulownia for the dividers, too, but after cutting a few pieces I decided that I didn’t like its workability, being rather coarse-grained and crumbly. So I went with basswood instead, which in addition to being lightweight (though not as light as paulownia) has a very high strength-to-weight ratio. The basswood is a dream to work with.
The end result is not exactly the Studley tool chest, and the fit and finish could best be described as “utility,” but I think overall it was a successful exercise. We’ll know for sure once TSA and the baggage handlers are through with it. I’m going to include an instruction sheet for TSA so that if they remove the trays they will (hopefully) get them back the right way. Wish me luck.
We dug up a few boxes of sweatshirts and T-shirts and are offering them in the Lost Art Press store at a significant discount.
Last year we started using a fulfillment service to print our shirts and sweatshirts, which is why you can offer them in a wide variety of sizes and colors. Before that change, we stocked all our own stuff, and this is the excess inventory that was caught in the middle of that change.
You can now place your order for our DVD documentary on the H.O. Studley tool cabinet and workbench, which is entitled “Virtuoso.”
The DVD will ship in late September. Domestic customers who order before Sept. 25, 2015, will receive free shipping on the DVD, which is $20. Visit our store here for details.
When the DVD begins shipping, we then will offer the documentary as a streaming video for $18 that you will be able to watch from any computer or mobile device. Because of a contractual obligation, we cannot sell the streaming video until the DVD is released.
Also, we will not be bundling the DVD, streaming video or book into any bundles with discounts. The price you see now is price everything will still be in a month or year. We do this for two reasons: So that we don’t punish loyal customers who buy books and DVDs as soon as they are released. And so we treat everyone the same, one of our guiding ethics.
The footage for the DVD was shot during the four-year study of Studley’s iconic tool cabinet for the book ‘Virtuoso: The Tool Cabinet & Workbench of H.O. Studley,’ and interviewed the book’s author and photographer. Here is a short trailer.
The result is a 1 hour 13 minute documentary on the cabinet, the man who built it and the intense four-year journey to document the cabinet, its contents and the recently discovered workbench.
In addition to interviews, the DVD includes footage of author Don Williams unloading every tool from the cabinet, which is set to an original musical score so you can experience how every tool fits into the hinged panels of this mahogany and ebony masterpiece.
Signed, limited-edition art prints of the image above will be for sale at the Studley Tool Cabinet & Workbench Exhibit in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on May 15-17. Come by and say hi, get a book signed, buy a print and, oh yeah, go see this tool cabinet and workbench everyone keeps talking about.
I refer to this image endearingly as the ensemble’s “yearbook” photo – it’s one of a few photographs I took that contains the entire tool cabinet and workbench, and I think it’s a fitting keepsake for a truly special viewing experience of the full Studley Ensemble. An image like this one appears across the title spread of Virtuoso, but the book features the empty tool cabinet and a cropped workbench base.
The prints measure 24″ by 24″ (the image is 20″ x 17″) and are printed with archival inks on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 308, a very thick matte art paper whose silky-smooth, reflective-free surface yields prints with outstanding depth, detail and character. They will come packaged in clear archival bags and will cost $100, payable by credit card or cash.
This art print edition will be limited to 100 prints, each one signed and numbered in pencil by me. I’m hoping to bring all 100 prints to Cedar Rapids (production time might be an issue), but given the pre-release interest in Virtuoso, Handworks,and the H.O. Studley exhibit, I’m fairly certain the prints I bring will sell out, making this poster an event exclusive. The prints will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis, though I will ensure that some are reserved to be sold on Saturday afternoon for those of you who won’t be in the area until the weekend.
I know many of you are interested in prints of images from Virtuoso, and you’ll be happy to know that I intend to offer prints of other images from the Virtuoso photo archive at future woodworking events (such as WIA). But for the time being, prints will not be offered for sale online anywhere – I won’t quit my day job to become a poster-making factory, and I prefer the kind of care and quality control I can exercise in these small-batch production runs. There’s already a made-for-the-masses poster for sale and, for what it’s worth, I have one myself.
Speaking of care and quality control, I’m still tweaking and proofing the image; I’ll post a photo or two on Instagram or on the LAP blog when production is in full swing.
